


Aching Chest, Blurry Sight

by The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette



Series: Red Dead Imagines [8]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: A/B/O, ABO, AU, Alpha Arthur, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Animalistic Tendencies, F/M, Female Reader, Omega Reader, Referenced Past Trauma, The Chase, heat - Freeform, mild violence during sex, reference passed abuse, the merry hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:00:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette/pseuds/The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette
Summary: Trying to outrun an Alpha in rut is never a good idea, especially when your heat has just started
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Reader
Series: Red Dead Imagines [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1374496
Comments: 31
Kudos: 191





	Aching Chest, Blurry Sight

**Author's Note:**

> FINISHED. FINALLY.

It felt like you escaped Valentine by the skin of your teeth. 

East of the Grizzlies was considered tamer, more civilized than the booming west and lawless frontier. The snowy caps created a natural barrier, staved off the expansion of law and order and kept it contained, for now. In a perfect world it would have been hell for your kind. But the world was far from perfect, and it was easier to hide among men where you were unlikely to meet others, than to take your chances alone in the West. 

It quickly became apparent however, that there were less places to hide as well on the rare occasion you did run into someone else with wolf blood. The muddy livestock town was the last place you thought you'd need to be on your guard, and now you were paying dearly for it. 

His horse reeked, stank of male pheromones and Alpha musk to the point that you cursed, physically backing away from the animal. The messages embedded in the scents had your wolf rising to the front, the urge to hunt down the owner of the mare strong. He was in his prime, a viable mate, and the thought of him had glands bursting under your tongue, awakening primal urges you hadn't felt in years. 

You fought the urge to shift with a whine, a hot flash of heat skittering down your spine as muscles clenched, strained under the pressure of your clothes. Hands stopped on the edges of your shirt, and you came back to yourself, chest heaving in cold evening air as you realized you'd been seconds from shifting on a busy street, the barely begun heat already playing havoc with your mind. 

Fight or flight kicked in, repressed instincts forcing your feet away from the agitated animal and across the muddy street to your own hitched gelding, conscious of the scent trail you'd be leaving in your wake. The taste of cinnamon and cream was heavy in your mouth, cloying your senses, and you knew you had to run. Fast. Stay another minute, and you'd have that Alpha on you in town. And damn if you'd let the brute take you easy. 

Your horse complained when you jerked his head around, braying and attracting unwanted attention, but you set heels to the curve of his stomach and tore down the main street, a death grip on the saddle horn in an effort to remain upright. Men scattered before you, and you thanked your lucky stars that you didn't see anyone that had the shape of a wolf about them. You still had time. 

The rising heat and press of unnatural teeth inside your mouth had you cursing, fighting the howl at the back of your throat. The twinkling lights of Valentine had all but faded in the evening mist as you fought to put distance between you and the unknown wolf, hoping it would be hours before he'd catch your scent. 

It'd been years since you'd run into any of the others, freedom and time alone making you lax, making you soft. It was easy to hide when no one around you used their senses, and you'd been among men for far too long. You idly promised yourself, hands jerking back on the reins as you forced your horse down a narrow path in the cliffs leading to the Dakota river, that if you survived the next couple of days you'd go north. Far north. All the way to Canada, if it meant being safe. 

Memories floated to the surface behind the haze of red in your mind, an ache in your arm and muscle pain on your back taking you back, to the last time you'd been outsmarted by an Alpha. Trapped, bound, torn asunder by someone that either didn't have the experience or the desire to care for you during your heat or in the aftermath of his rut, making the dangers compound and exponentially greater. He left scars inside your mind and on your skin, and carved a gaping hole in your trust in other wolves. 

A howl brought you up short just before the river, body instinctively turning to the direction it had come from. Ice warred with the heat in your chest, thought skittering away under the pressure of want that roared over your senses. It sounded again, three distinct tones, mournful and searching. Your chest ached to call back, but you fought it down with a whine, almost dropping from the saddle as sweat and chills broke out over your body. For half a dozen heartbeats you had no idea why you were running. It was foolish to run, wasn't it? Run from the very thing that could set you straight again, let you think. 

You felt on fire, cinnamon and cream driving you crazy. It was leaking from your skin, pooling under your tongue, almost choking you as you dragged air into your lungs. You ripped off your jacket, climbing down from the saddle in jerky movements before you flung it down on the loose shale. Your human mind was far away, kicked aside and in place warred two instincts as old as time itself. Find the Alpha. Flee the Alpha. 

You just needed to think, for a few seconds, get the fever off your skin before it could settle further. Your shirt followed the jacket, pants and underthings practically ripped from your skin in an effort to just feel free, to give in long enough to be able to reason. 

It was a losing battle. The cool air off the river eased the heat down your spine, but sent prickled chills over your naked breasts and stomach, ramping up the heat that coiled under your skin. You could smell the cinnamon coming off of you know, feel the slick running down your thighs. 

You landed on your knees in the river, trying vainly to wash away your scent. Your hands scrabbled for mud along the riverbed, smearing it across your face and neck, down your chest and in between your breasts. The heat had you almost pausing there, aching to feel touch on your skin, but another howl, closer than before, broke the haze and you stumbled to your feet, quickly divesting your horse of its saddle to avoid the pinch of leather on bare skin. You left it there on the riverbank next to your haphazard pile of clothes, your humanity staring back sadly as you vaulted onto the horse's back and urged him across the ford. 

The heat started to steal time from you as you climbed the cliff on the other side, coming and going in waves that dampened your skin with sweat and slick until even the horse under you looked a haggard creature, darkened fur covered in mud and blackened with sweat. 

You hunkered down over your horse's neck, letting him choose the path, confident he would stay on the road. You needed time. The mud would mask you for maybe an hour, a little longer if you were lucky, but you needed the main road to confuse the scent of the horse. 

Idly you wondered if he'd be tracking you as man or beast, if he was strong enough to follow your scent as a man. The thought had you aching for him, sight unseen, body clenching on nothing as you whined into your horse's mane, panting to catch your breath. You swallowed cream and felt your insides heat further, and knew it was going to be a long night. 

Awareness slipped in and out of focus as you watched your horse's legs traverse the rocky road, and some point you must have blessedly slipped into a light sleep, because the sun was rising when you once again lifted your head. 

You sat up fully and tasted the air, grimacing at the sweet smell heavy around you. Your tongue felt glued to the roof of your mouth, the heat stealing every ounce of liquid in your body until it felt like you were stuck in the desert. This was the second sinister part of the heat. Blinding want first, the need to submit, then the weakening thirst that finally stopped you in your tracks if you tried to run. 

You stopped at a small pond, lips pressed right to the surface as you drank, hands forgotten as they curled into the mud. You pressed your face into the mess as well, letting the coolness fight with your fever. 

A howl broke through the dawn, odd for a lone wolf, but the awareness skittering down your spine knew it was anything but a normal wolf. The heat flared along your limbs, pulling a moan from your parted lips. You flopped into the mud, mind screaming too close, too close, smearing mud on your skin as you twisted and turned, uncaring in your heat. 

You broke as he called again, head thrown back to release your own answer to his question, your thin, two tones mingling with the end of his deeper voice. It left you shaking like a leaf, settling in the mud until you felt stuck, back arching and ass rising into the air until your joints shivered under the strain. 

Panic set in, and you fought through the mud and the need to submit, breath heaving gasps as you collapsed on the shore. The heat flared once more, trying to stop you in your tracks long enough for the Alpha to catch up, and you caught yourself with your hand between your legs, letting the slick drip down to form a puddle underneath you. 

You jerked your fingers away, snarling in anger at the lapse of control, and rolled to your feet. You needed to shift. You needed to run. It was a risk, letting the wolf take over, but your teeth ached in the back of your mouth, fever starting to make any solution sound good. You knew you wouldn't get far on the horse now, the creature standing where you left it, head hung low in exhaustion. 

You left him there, pausing long enough to pat his neck and thank him quietly, but the wolf had you in its grip and shook you loose from human sentiments, bowing your back and roiling your muscles until it broke through, snapping and snarling. Your horse watched quietly as fur erupted from the base of your spine, limbs twisting and rearranging as your fingers shortened and the pad of your palm thickened. Teeth snapped, long and sharp in your muzzle, and you gave in enough to lift your head and howl, searching for that answer. 

He was quick to give it to you, sounding just out of sight, and the haze of fever shook your limbs and rattled your skull. You stopped yourself from turning, backtracking down the road in the direction you knew he was, and instead fled to the west. You followed straight beams laid in the ground that you had no name for as a wolf and disappeared into the forest, the rising sun starting to send an ache through your head. 

You needed cool, darkness. You needed to hide. No, you needed to run. You argued with yourself, instinct driving you to find a den and the safety it would offer, fear stealing blood from your brain and sending it to your limbs in a last ditch effort to outrun him. 

Miles slipped under your paws, the fever manageable in the form of the wolf. You still wanted to submit, but the wolf did not know blinding want like the woman did. 

You ran throughout the day. The extra mud should have given you a head start, but all too soon that howl started up again behind you, coaxing you to answer each one. He was utilizing your instinct, and you were giving him a clear road map to your location.

Eventually though, all good things come to an end, and the fever took hold once more, invading your senses. It forced your humanity up again until the wolf gagged on it, paws slipping and skidding in the leaf litter under the trees until they were once more bare and fingered instead of clawed. You collapsed in the drifts, the crunch and poke of dead leaves enough to pull you back from the wildness that lurked under your skin. Your mouth parted with an audible rasp, lips unsticking reluctantly, old sweat on your skin forming a gritty crust that mingled with the mud.

You had to find water, quickly. The heat would ramp up again now that the moon was rising in the sky, even though it was partly hidden by fog, and you needed the water to drink and to cool off. The fight was fast leaving your limbs, retreating from your mind. You wanted so badly to give in, to just collapse and wait. 

You whined, the sound long and low, and pushed up on shaky legs, telling yourself to climb the next hill. Just the next one. You were halfway up before a stab of heat had you gagging, your body trying to swamp you with sweat and slick but up it had no water to create it with. Instead, the fever turned up the heat, Mother Nature sensing that she finally had you beat. 

You slid a few feet, dropping onto the strewn leaves and letting them carry you downhill, before trying once again. After three unsuccessful attempts to climb the hill, you admitted, finally, to yourself that you weren't going to make it. 

Inevitability settled in under your sternum, a lump that rubbed against your lungs as you heaved for breath, turning each intake of air into a sickly wheeze. You didn't want to think about what was about to happen, your body burning in anticipation while your mind shut down. You turned your sights to the nearest tree, it's fallen brother barely poking out of the leaves next to it, and slowly pulled yourself to its side. 

The fallen log was stripped of bark and smooth to the touch, the thick grooves marring the surface evidence of deer and hog in the area. You couldn't smell them, though, the scent of cinnamon in your nose blinding you to all else. You sagged against it anyway, pulling yourself up until you could peer over, letting the piles of leaves below take your weight. 

And you waited, skin twitching, a audible gasp leaving at every stab of fever, eyes fighting to stay open. It was hard to accept you couldn't run, couldn't escape. You let the wolf rise up again, coaxing her to the surface, painfully aware of every sound around you, straining to hear the hunter. 

Your first warning was the crunch of leaves under his feet. 

Your eyes snapped open again, awareness a low thrum of electricity under your skin. Your body shuddered, shivered, a fresh wave of cinnamon and cream bursting into the air, muscles already relaxing in anticipation. 

Silver eyes watched you through the gloom, the outline of his head wide and the shadow of his spine tall and intimidating. Your nose had not lied to you earlier in Valentine, he was in his prime. Short summer coat dark grey and glossy, muscles firm and corded beneath the swirls of fur. Wide Alpha head and shoulders built like a bull, barely out of breath for a beast that had been chasing you down for a whole day and night. You twitched under his gaze, feeling the latent threat when his mouth opened and white teeth flashed in the weak moonlight. 

He paused a foot away, scenting the air as if confirming the hunt was over, and a shiver worked down your spine at the red flash of rut reflected in his eyes when his head lowered. 

This was the moment where it could all go wrong, and you couldn't shift, the fever locking you out of your other form. When he took a step nearer, and you realized he would tower over you even if you did manage to shift, your lip curled in a poor imitation of your usual snarl. A growl rumbled out at his next step as you tried and failed to appear intimidating, limbs not obeying when you gave the command to rise. 

The heat was trying to force you to your knees, it wanted you to submit. But your mind rebelled, fear skittering in because _he hadn't shifted_ and damn if you were going to give him an opportunity to mount in this form. Slick pooled between your legs, the worsening drought in your mouth a stark reminder that there was a very real possibility that you wouldn't be able to stop him if he tried. 

You could feel the hot press of his breath on your knee where it was propped over the fallen tree, his nose a cold circle that drew a line up your thigh. You snarled again, trying to stare him down, but he continued on, silver boldly holding your gaze as his tongue snaked out and lapped at the juncture of your hip and thigh, nudging you boldly in his quest to taste skin. 

Your hand shot out, pushing him away, back contorting into a curve as you bared your teeth in challenge, the wolf for once sharing your fear on having an unknown male this close to you in such a vulnerable state. 

He shifted faster than you could process, a snarl of his own twisting his lips, hand snapping out to lodge under your jaw and pin you to the tree. You thrashed for a moment, but he pressed down harder until spots floated in your vision and you flopped to the forest floor, held up only by his hand on your throat. 

He eased off slightly, letting you draw in a deep, shuddering breath, and you could see clearly enough to get your first look at him. 

He made just as handsome a man as he did a wolf. There were scars and nicks on his chin and cheeks, little variations that added to his appeal. Strong nose, broken at least once with a slightly crooked set, heavy eyebrows, his eyes shining silver out from beneath. His short hair was stripped of color, beard a ragged shadow next to his skin.

Unconsciously, your body had relaxed in his grip, and his fingers shifted slightly, letting them curl around your jaw instead of pressing over your pulse. 

"You led me on a merry chase, Omega." The deep voice, the casual way he said Omega, pulled you under and left you to drown in pheromones, your mouth gaping open as you tried to suck in oxygen around the burning taste. 

You wanted him, needed him on a desperate level and why wasn't he in you yet please Alpha, need, please. It wasn't until the keening, high pitch moan left your mouth that you realized you had said the last part out loud. You blinked to find your body bowing towards him, struggling to turn and present to him, choking yourself as you pressed up into his firm grip. 

Red bled quickly into his eyes, his exhale a ragged gasp, and his hand jerked you forward until you crashed against him and his lips found yours. His tongue licked inside, curling around your own, enticing more cinnamon to spill from the glands under it. You moaned into his mouth, hands flat against the muscles of his chest, feeling the soft hair covering the bulky planes. 

He shivered as his tongue slid against your own and the cinnamon taste was transferred, pulling a low grown from his chest as his hold loosened around your throat. He instead cradled your head, angling it backwards so he could delve inside your mouth again, chasing the addicting taste. 

It became a battle of sorts, you trying to get more taste of the man, and he becoming drunker on cinnamon and cream. Eventually though, he tore his mouth free, breath a ragged pant on the side of your face before you felt the whisker burn and soft press of his lips travel along your jaw and down your throat. 

His tongue licked a trail down your throat, across your collarbone where his canines hooked over the bone for a second and your head arched backwards, desperate to give him room at the same time you tried to flinch away from the sharp points. 

He pushed you back and down, abandoning his prize to discover your breasts, hands bruising on your ribs as you arched under him. He licked over the swell and nipped at the underside of both of them, alternating between laving with the flat of his tongue and pinching them with his teeth. He continued down to add to the fast forming blemishes across your ribs and stomach with the same technique. 

Your head rolled on the leaves, eyes shut and hands on his shoulders and hair. When you reached for the back of his head for leverage he shook you off with a growl and a particularly hard bite that had you crying out, legs curling up to brace against his chest. Your breath stuttered in your lungs at the way he manhandled you in an effort to reach more skin, twisting and bucking under his hard grip, equal parts trying to accommodate his search and block his advance. 

There was no fighting an Alpha however, and where you resisted he simply barreled forward, pulling you away from the fallen tree and pushing you flat against the ground. His voice was a growl, ordering you still, and you obeyed even through the fog of heat. 

Your body was singing, shivering in glee and pleasure under the attention he was giving, happy even in the face of rut induced violence he dished out. It wasn't until his lips and teeth sucked and curled around the juncture of your hip, hands forcing your legs up and apart, that you surfaced from the fog, pushing against his shoulders in an effort to back him up. 

"No," your voice croaked up at him, firm despite being a breathy whisper, and he reacted accordingly, rearing up to snarl over you. He knocked your hands away as though swatting flies, and you let him, knowing that was as far as you dared push. 

You couldn't help the little cry that escaped when he flipped you and pushed your shoulders down, the crunch of leaves loud in the silence of the forest around you. You moved automatically as he came over you, ass rising and pushing back even as his bulk settled against your back, mouth already on your shoulder. 

His hands slid between your legs, growled at the slick that covered your skin and stuck to his, and pushed them farther apart, settling you lower than you had thought he would want. When his heat slid between your legs his hands caught your hips, holding you still as he began to push inside your body. 

You keeled, long and high pitched, the feeling of being stretched burning through your lower muscles. It felt deliriously good, and your body bowed under him, trying to take him as deep as possible. The fever fed your pleasure, amplifying it until the waves crashing over you took on a dream-like quality, and your mouth panted open, your breathy moan quiet and strangled. 

His answering groan painted your shoulder with hot breath, hands moving until one wrapped around your waist and the other forced its way under you to wrap around your shoulders, holding you flush and still. 

He didn't wait for you to grow use to him, pushing until you could feel the hot line of his hips against you, the thick curve inside you flexing, before he pulled almost all the way out. His hips snapped forward, setting a brutal pace, and your body weeped through the sudden pain and pleasure, the glands under your tongue swelling until you swallowed, swamping your system with chemicals to balance the initial violence. 

Your slick leaked out around him, creating a mess on both your skins, the smell of cream and cinnamon an almost tangible haze surrounding you both. His teeth locked on your shoulder, slipped on the sweat coating your skin and his jaw locked again on the back of your neck, pulling a broken groan from your lips. 

It was over almost as soon as it began, the fever and rut pushing you both to completion far too quickly to be totally satisfactory. His knot swelled, the thick bundle of muscle locking him inside you with hips flush against the curve of your ass. A guttural groan left his lips, mouth opening to pant before he slipped on the leaves and closed his teeth around the column of skin again to avoid falling to the side. 

The pleasure hit you suddenly, the feeling of not quite an orgasm hitting you square in the stomach, crying out at the press of the knot stretching you even further. You pulled forward almost out of instinct, matching his aborted tug backwards, and your arms gave out at the bolt of lightening that sparked through you. His arms ended up being the only thing holding you up, until his legs gave out and he landed on you, pushing you down into the leaves. 

You turned your head, heaved a breath, and shivered as his teeth clenched down, feeling the same wave of pleasure he was no doubt feeling as your bodies pulsed around each other. 

Eventually, he unclenched his jaw, and your bruised and torn skin slipped out of his grip. 

"Shit," his forehead pressed against your shoulder, hand clenching and then unclenching on your hip. You gave him a little hum, trying not to shift too much. You went still at the touch of calloused pads whispering over your skin where your neck met your shoulder, and shook off his touch, forgoing trying to keep still. 

His hips bucked forward at the movement and you both groaned, his hand closing over the curve of your shoulder for a moment. Fear trickled in under the feeling of pleasure and you tried to arch away from his hold again.

"Stop. Moving. Woman." Each word was bitten out, and you subsided in the face of his irritation. His fingers came back, tracing the edge of a bite mark on your shoulder. "I broke your skin," it was mumbled into your spine as he settled back down on top of you, and at the same time you felt protected and smothered as you waited for his knot to go down. "You're bleeding."

"Not the first time," you hummed into the leaves, your voice muffled, and the weight of his head disappeared. You heard him curse softly before he rolled to his side, pulling you with him. His knot caught on the soft skin of your opening and you hissed, but his hips canted upwards and the strain decreased. You could feel the burn on your shoulder now, the skin hot where he had broken through. 

You took a deep breath of cool night air, letting him move you to his satisfaction as you spooned on the forest floor. His breathing was slow and even behind you, his racing pulse the only leftover from what had transpired. You, on the other hand, felt strung out, exhaustion warring with anxiety. He must have sensed it, because his hand curved around again, idly stroking your hip in a soothing motion. 

"You're the first wolf I've run into in a long time," you whispered, feeling a need to break the silence. He shifted at the sound of your voice, your words bringing out a rumble in his chest. 

"Figured as much, the way you ran." His hips pulled back again, and you both shuddered at the feeling of his knot releasing, your nose wrinkling at the sensation of slick and semen seeping back out. 

You shifted forward, intending to stand, but an iron grip on your arm brought you up short, and you turned towards the larger Alpha in alarm. 

"I ain't aimin to chase you down again, Omega. You'll end up killin us both." He eyed you, unimpressed at the shock and surprise that played over your features, and then tugged you towards him. In one smooth motion he hoisted you into his arms and found his feet, and you wondered if this display of strength was for your benefit. 

"Let's get you to water, while we still got our wits about us." He steps were sure on the uneven ground, carrying you back the way you had come. You relaxed in his arms, laying your head down on his shoulder. It felt a little nice, to be looked after this way, even if you knew it was his biology demanding it of him. 

"What were you doin in Valentine, anyway? Thought there were no wolves east of the mountains." He moved through the trees quietly, with grace, something that you hadn't realized you missed, dealing with the noisiness of man. 

"I could ask you the same question." The trees broke and you entered a little clearing, a wide creek breaking up the mounds of grass. When he paused to step down to a rock at the water's edge, you leaned over his arm, staring down into the deep pool below and the slightly blurry reflection you both made, eyes shining silver and gold under the light of the moon. You were very aware of the dryness of your throat, wanted so badly to drop your head beneath the surface of water and drink until you were full and bloated. 

"I think I have more right to ask, seeing how you set off my rut in the middle of a goddamn bar fight."

You didn't feel sorry at all, feeling the slick and bodily fluids still dribbling down your thighs and the curve of your ass, and glanced up at him to say, "sorry to be such an _inconvenience_." 

You had one moment to take pleasure from the absolutely shocked expression on his face, before a gleam entered his eyes and he promptly dropped you into the pool below. 

The cold froze your limbs, and you reflexively inhaled, burning water spilling down your throat. You clawed your way to the surface, sputtering, and flailed until a strong hand caught you under your arm and hauled you back towards the rock. Your glare sent him into a deep laugh, bending over to rest his hands on his knees as he fought for breath at your expense.

You sniffed at him, unamused, but left him to his amusement and dipped your mouth back under the water, sucking in mouthfuls of the liquid. You sighed as the fever eased a little more, knowing it was a double edged sword. The more you hydrated, the more arsenal your body had to use against you. 

When your belly felt full of water you broke surface again, and started scrubbing at your skin, focusing on removing the layers of sweat and mud that had caked and hardened on your limbs. There would only be so much time before the next flare of heat, and you didn't want to spend it dirty. 

You rubbed angrily at your face, hissed when your fingers touched the raw edges on your neck and shoulders, and heard him sigh. "Ah, sorry, sweetheart-" 

You cut him off quickly, tone biting, hand snapping down and spraying water. "I ain't your _sweetheart_ , Alpha." 

He sobered quickly, and a quick peek confirmed he was watching you scrub yourself red. You kicked at the water and switched hands holding onto the rock, starting on your other arm. The water was slowly turning brown around you. 

"No, I guess you ain't." He said it softly, grunting as he maneuvered his bulk to hang off the edge of the rock, hands scrubbing his own skin. You caught yourself staring at him as he dunked his head in the water and ran his hands through his hair, scratching at an itch on his scalp.

He caught your eyes, and you were quick to look away, annoyed that you found him handsome. You dunked your own head, then panicked when your hands slipped on the rock and you struggled to pull yourself up. 

His hands were strong and sure, fingers wrapping around your arms to haul you out of the water. You hung limply in his grasp, taking deep breaths of fresh air, feeling the panic slowly receding. When you tried to pull away, he held on, holding you steady while your fingers curled around his arms, head falling forward when a flash of heat scuttled up your front even in the cold water. 

You looked up, a little scared that you were going to see the red glint of rut in his eyes again, but they only swirled silver as he breathed in deeply, a male rumble starting up in his chest. 

There was a long moment where you stared at each other, and you wondered if he could see the fear etched on your face as well as he could smelling it. The spell was broken however when he shook himself and pulled you to stand, sweeping your legs out underneath you once more. 

"Got a camp not far from here. It ain't a proper den, but it'll work."

You had never had the luxury of a den before, and your heart thudded in your chest at the thought of safety and security. However, you glanced up at the Alpha out of the corner of your eye, and wondered how safe you really were as he carried you back through the trees. 

He was right, his camp wasn't far, and while it wasn't a proper den, it still soothed the edge of need in you. Canvas stretched across a couple of protruding roots of the oak the camp was next to, and the ground under had been hastily scooped out to form a bowl underneath. 

A couple of nickers greeted you both, and you blinked in surprise to see your horse beside the mare from Valentine, munching happily and looking none the worse for wear considering the state you had left him in. 

"My horse?" You glanced up at the Alpha as he deposited you beside the opening of the constructed den and moved off to dig in his saddlebag. You were further surprised to see your saddle propped next to his, your clothes in a neat bundle set on the seat. "How?"

He turned back with a box of matches in one hand and a crumbled newspaper in the other, looking over to see what you were gesturing at before bending down on one knee in front of a prepared firewood. "Picked up your stuff as I went. When you left your horse, I knew it had to be gettin bad, so I made this place when I found it. Thought we'd need it." 

As if his sense of smell wouldn't have told him how desperate you had been becoming. You sat shocked for a moment, touched as you stared between the trappings of your humanity and the stranger that had gathered them when you had been forced to abandon them, and finally murmured:

"Thank you."

He took his time, starting the fire and blowing gently on the tinder before setting some smaller sticks around it to feed the infant flame. You thought maybe he was going to ignore the thanks, but then he muttered, "you're welcome, sweetheart." 

If he meant the slip of endearment, after your spat earlier, he didn't apologize for it. And you stayed quiet as well, accepting the moniker. 

When he was done with the fire, he turned back to the saddle bags and brought out a first aid kit, gesturing to the bites on your neck. "You want some help cleanin those?"

You stared up at him in confusion, holding his gaze until he shifted slightly from crouching to leaning his weight on one leg. "Why? I'll just have more in a little while."

The confession made his eyes darken with want, muscles jumping and twitching down his chest and stomach, before he rolled his eyes skyward. "Jesus," he grumbled, and started for you, uncoiling from his crouch to stalk forward. 

You scuttled back, almost falling into the mouth of the den, but he caught you on the edge, pulling you back towards the fire and manhandling you until he could get at the bite marks. 

"At least let me put this on em," he popped the top of a bottle of antiseptic cream off and squeezed some out onto a cloth, pressing it against the wounds and causing you to hiss at the tingly pain that spread from the area.

"That's gonna taste awful," you told him, comforted by the way he almost immediately snarled back:

"I don't care."

Irritation and rut went hand in hand, and while it could be uncomfortable, at least you knew what to expect from the Alpha. This slightly overbearing need to coddle you however, was foreign. 

His touch and close proximity however, had other effects, causing more heat to pool in your stomach and slick to stick to the inside of your thighs. His bulk was a line of fire behind you that you were hyper aware of, every twitch of muscle echoed along your back as the fine hair down your spine raised as if a shock lurked under your skin. Even his smell effected you, causing the glands under your tongue to emit more cinnamon pheromones, the taste pulling you further under. 

You knew the exact moment he noticed, muscles stiffening behind you. His body swayed almost subconsciously, pressing against your back, and the cloth fell to the wayside as his nose dipped down to your shoulder, inhaling deeply, teeth scraping along the arc of muscle. 

A full bodied shiver racked down your spine, bowing the arc until the fine bones underneath pressed up against the skin. He mouthed down your spine, all lips and teeth, before he returned to your neck, leaning over you to grab at your hair and pull your head back, giving him more room, pulling a whimper out of you at the sharp motion.

"God, the things I want to do to you, sweetheart." His voice had dropped lower, the growl and rumble that distorted his words explained by the pinch of teeth a little too sharp to be human on the tendon running down the column of your throat. 

It was obvious he meant something sensual, erotic, but the words sounded too much like a threat, the way he manhandled you too strong a trigger combined with the way he dominated your senses, and you jerked against his hold, all at once a snarling, snapping mess.

His hold on your hair tightened, balled up at the base of your head until he could hold you at arms length, eyes hard as he watched you turn in an attempt to get at his arm. Maybe he noticed the way the fire caught the glint of fear in your eyes, hell, maybe he smelled it, but he visibly clamped down on any instinctual response to your stunt of defiance. By the time you had calmed down and hung limp in his hold, one hand on his arm to take pressure of your aching scalp, he had backed off his interest, looking for all the world calm despite keeping his eyes locked on your face.

"You one of those Omegas that rip throats out durin heats?"

You screwed up your eyes, appalled by the suggestion. "No." When he looked unconvinced, you pushed out a breath through puffed lips, and gave in a little. "You surprised me, is all."

He grunted, eyes narrowed as he set back on his heels. He ducked his head and canted it to the side as though to get a better look at you, gears turning behind his eyes as they flickered over your limbs. He seemed to struggle for a moment, almost holding his breath. "How many times you done this?"

The admission shouldn't have rankled the way it did. You chewed at your bottom lip, worried it until you cut through and tasted blood, and then continued to poke it with your tongue. A rough finger pad slid against your chin, pulled your lip out from your teeth. 

You jerked against the touch, eyes stubbornly refusing to look at him as you gave the answer. "This is the third time I've been caught." It was whispered, but you knew he heard, and you curled your left hand around your right arm as you waited, still trapped in his grip. 

"Been caught?" He scoffed, the sound laking any real heat. "You ran every time?"

You hummed, noncommittal. "The first time, I didn't get a chance." You finally risked a peek up at him, but his expression was unreadable. Slowly, his free hand came up to rub at his face, a scowl twisting it as he considered you.

"I ain't-", he paused, shook his head a little as though mocking himself, "I ain't gonna hurt you, Omega. I promise you that."

The thing about wolves, they could smell a lie. You breathed in deep, huffed at him, trying to catch a whiff of intent. If anything, it seemed to amuse him, but he brought you slowly closer, holding your gaze the entire time until you were pressed chest to chest, your head tilted back on his shoulder.

"I ain't gonna hurt you," he repeated in a low murmur, and you sniffed again, relaxing when his scent didn't change from the usual male musk. He dipped his head down slowly and captured your lips, working them open and sliding his tongue inside. You moaned at the contact, and he lifted his head up just enough to drop a kiss to your nose before nodding to the den's entrance.

"How bout you go down there, see if it's to your likin?" His grip loosened on your hair, allowed it to whisper across his fingers as he trailed his hand down your back, urging you forward in the process.

He was giving you time to claim the den, get used to the safety and maybe calm down a little. You felt his eyes on the curve of your spine when you turned and slipped over the edge of the makeshift den, not seeing the way he rubbed his hands over his face and bowed his back briefly to look up at the stars. 

It was almost like proper courtship, in a way that made your heart flutter under your ribs. A bedroll was laid out at the bottom, a plaid blanket and an elk skin laid out over it. It was sinfully soft, and you let your fingers curl into it as you looked at the rough walls, dappled with the flickering light of the fire. 

A shadow cut over the wall, and you looked over your shoulder, finding the Alpha had paused at the opening, watching you. Silver eyes shining in the dim light, flashing, but no sign of red yet. He huffed, a low quiet sound, and you turned more fully toward him when he repeated the gesture. It carried through the small space, had your wolf peaking in interest, and after a slight pause you huffed back, the sound distinctly more feminine leaving your throat. 

He finally crouched into the den, keeping his bulk clear of the bedroll, and settled against the far wall. "Never had a den before?" He didn't sound accusatory, but the way his eyes lingered on your collar before dipping down to your arm let you know that even in the dim light from the fire he had finally seen your scars. There wasn't much that could mark someone with wolf's blood, and it was obvious he had drawn his own conclusions. 

You looked down at the elk skin, marveling at the fact that you actually found yourself relaxing with the dirt walls surrounding you, the air cool thanks to the little opening at the top of the slope. It was just big enough for the both of you to lay straight, wide enough and tall enough to not bump elbows or feel claustrophobic. Made you realize the lengths he had gone through, all for a stranger. 

You thought about your rescued horse and belongings as you looked around, before turning back to him, trying to swallow down the emotion before he could scent it. The heat helped, since the added safety of the den ratcheted up its response to the other wolf, and you shivered to feel the curl of want low in your stomach. 

"How you want to do this, Alpha?" You turned to him as you poised the question, watched as he idly scratched at his arm before leaning forward to balance his elbows against his raised knees.

"It's up to you, sweetheart. We can continue like last time, or," he dropped his gaze to the bedroll, but not before you saw the red flash in his eyes, "we can start over."

"Start over?" 

He gave a deep huff that carried amusement and something darker. "The other times," when you tilted your head he elaborated, "when you got caught." You felt the hair raise along your spine again, but held his gaze, waiting. "Were it always-" he broke off again, gesturing with one hand to the mouth of the den, and you blinked, connecting the dots and realizing he meant when he caught you in the woods.

"More... or less." You left out the fact that he was by far the gentlest, even caught in rut. A little manhandling was to be expected, liked even, but no one wanted to be trapped and chained, beaten and scarred.

If anything though, it seemed he had already guessed the part you left unspoken. "Well, we don't gotta be at each other's throat by the end of it, if you'd be willin to try somethin and trust me." He gave you a lopsided grin, a devilish peek of his canines that had your stomach flipping and heat rising to your face.

You turned more fully towards him, leaning into his space as you asked, "what were you thinking, Alpha?" You made sure to linger on his title, liked the way his breath stuttered and his eyes darkened.

"I've... learned some things, over time. There's more ways to make love than like animals." He rose to a crouch, stretching forward until his fingertips just barely brushed the pelt, muscles bunched as he held himself back.

A curl of want worked its way through your limbs at his approach, dried out your mouth, tried to muddle your mind. You blinked hard and then stared at him, eyes narrowed, until his meaning popped through and you recoiled, your ass landing hard on the bedroll, shocked at the idea. "You've been with humans."

He nodded, a small dip of his chin, muscles locking down as if waiting for your verdict. 

"How the hell... but," you scoffed, gestured at him, eyes taking him in once more but still seeing the blatant signs of a male Alpha, signs that would give him away in bed, "how'd you do that without..." You trailed off, not sure how to ask and not wanting to offend. 

"Without knottin em or markin em up?" Seems he found your reaction amusing, if the return of the devilish little grin was anything to go by. "Most human women don't like you finishing in em, and if you're doin it right, no one pays too much attention to the marks."

Red flushed over your face at the blatant way he admitted the knowledge, warmed your chest and stomach, a shiver worked down your back as something clicked in your head. "Earlier," you waited for him to nod before continuing, "when I tried to stop you..."

Understanding caught on, and the reflective glint of rut bled over his irises, the color tinting the silver as he ducked his head and arched his shoulders back. "I could tell you, little Omega, or I could show you.”

That rumble of voice, almost a growl that reverberated around the little den, brought back your full body shiver, until you were practically vibrating on the elk skin. You whined, sunk down to the floor in order to feel the rasp of soft fur against your stomach, and the Alpha moved as if it the signal. 

He slid over and behind you, chest rasping across your back, and bit gently at the side of your neck, bringing a confused hum out from your throat. He didn't break skin, just let his teeth almost glide over the curve of your shoulder. There, he lingered, kissing and nipping around the bite mark he had already left in an effort to distract you from his hands. 

One said hand wormed its way under your stomach, palm flat and touch firm as he hiked you up against his chest. His touch sent a shiver through you as he kept pulling until you were sitting once more, leaning further and further back until you were resting your weight on his chest, your ass resting on top of his thighs as he held you effortlessly.

His hand stopped its journey just over the thin bones of your collar, giving you something to press against and ground yourself with as he rubbed calloused fingers back and forth over the ridge, touch light despite the possessive edge.

While you had been distracted by that traveling hand, the other snaked over your stomach, stopping just below the shuddering rise of your breasts. He paused for a moment, letting you seep into the touches, before he rumbled against your skin,

"Whatdaya say, Omega.You wanna start over?" He licked up the side of your neck, lips ghosting over the edge of your jaw, nipped playfully at the lope of your ear. 

You keened, long and low, barely processing his words through the heavenly feeling his touch evoked.You swallowed heavily around your swollen tongue, panted through the dizzying hit of pheromones, and surfaced long enough to rasp:

"Please, don't stop, Alpha. Please."

"Nu, uh, Omega. You gotta say-" 

"Your way, Alpha, your way." You cut off his rumble, barely conscious of what you were saying. You were certain you would have told him anything he wanted as long as he kept touching you in this soft manner.

He groaned against your skin as his hand on your ribs made an abrupt turnaround, fingers splayed wide as he dipped them down the curve of your stomach and cupped your mound. You jerked against his touch, mouth opened to let out a cry that he quickly hushed.His grip changed, hand cupping the back of your thigh and he spread them slightly, draped one over the outside of his leg, holding you open to his touch. 

Then his hand returned, fingers sliding down between your legs to curl in a barely there touch over your lower lips in a way that had you shuddering, falling limp instead of trying to jerk away once more. Any thought of fight, of staying on guard went out the window when he repeated the motion, index finger grazing your clit lazily. He was toying with you, mouth open against the side of your neck, half opened eyes watching as your body came alive under his caresses. 

Your mouth was a swamp, your throat a desert, and with each reflexive swallow, you could feel yourself letting go, sinking deeper and deeper into fever.The water in your stomach roiled, not mixing well with the pheromone laden saliva, but all too soon your body would burn through it as well. 

Awareness was slowly slipping away, simple need outstripping your ability to think. Within a handful of touches, you were lost once again.

The low rumble in his chest deepened when you shuddered and shifted against him, hips bucking in an attempt to get a firmer touch, needing the friction. He pulled back slightly, fingers leaving your center and grabbing your hip instead, leaving a sticky imprint as he slid you down his body and rolled you over onto your back.

You grumbled at him, tried to roll back over, but he caught you by the shoulders, grip unyielding as he leaned down and caught your eyes, let you see the red flash swallow up the silver color.A whole other different kind of shiver skittered up your spine now, but he was already moving, caught up in chasing your scent.

His mouth ended up buried against the inside of your thigh, teeth marking the soft skin before he soothed it with his tongue.Your fingers found their way into his hair, cradling the back of his head when the soft locks proved too short to hold on to. 

His nose butted against the ticklish skin where your thigh met the curve of your ass, before he shifted, grabbing your thighs and draping them over his shoulders, one large, rough hand curving over your hip and stomach to press you down.

His eyes caught yours again, held them as he leaned over and ran his nose over your lower lips, lips just barely brushing against your sensitive skin before he drew back, ducking his head to repeat the action. You were enraptured, staring down at him, a little whimper escaping that had the pad of his thumb rubbing back and forth along the curve of your stomach.

Your eyes slipped close at the first touch of his tongue, an even quieter whimper leaving you as your head dropped back. He rumbled approvingly against your skin, and your legs tightened for a heartbeat against the sides of his head before relaxing again.

You felt him explore slowly, keeping that slightly lazy pace as he pulled another shudder and whimper from you. You rubbed your tongue on the inside of your teeth, swallowed the taste it released, and felt him hum, lips briefly rubbing against your clit before he dipped down and ran his tongue along your opening.

"You taste like cinnamon down here, too." It was mostly a rumble, mouth still pressed against you too tightly for clear words. 

"That... Good?" Or at least, that’s what you meant to say. It came out more of a half-whine, your mouth not quite able to make the human sounds your brain half supplied.

Instead of answering, he lifted your hips slightly, readjusted them over his shoulders, and pressed fully against you, tongue abruptly losing the lazy curl and instead delving inward, catching more of your taste. 

You bucked up into his hold, twisted slightly to ease the ache he created, but he only gripped tighter until you could feel the hard press of each finger on bone, tongue curling inwards as he repeatedly licked over you. It became too much too soon, and you looked down to beg.

Red, flashing, the silver all eaten up and turned into a bloody color that caught you, held you still. Your hands jerked in his hair when he let his teeth pinch your clit, thighs clenching down on his head again. You held his gaze, caught in his eyes as they worked over your features, and jumped at the feeling of fingers replacing his tongue, two slipping in easily thanks to the slick, and he rubbed them back and forth, slowly speeding up. 

He pulled back just enough to blow a hot breath over your sensitive skin, and you felt the emerging beard burn already as he rasped his chin back and forth over your slit before he nipped your thigh, almost breaking the skin when he lingered and pinched. His whole lower face was slick, shiny in the dim light, and he seemed to take great joy in using his face to rub the slick over your thighs and mound. 

Finally though, with another hard nip that had you gasping out in almost pain, he let out a snarl, a demand that was so basically _Alpha_ that you cried out, reflexively bending up, not knowing whether you intended to reach for him or try to push him away.

Teeth met teeth when he kissed you, surging up your body to press you lat on your back. One hand, sticky and warm, wound its way into your hair and pulled, baring your throat, his bulk a line of fire that you arched against shamelessly. His mouth forced your jaw wide, sucked your bottom lip between his teeth to rake it raw, left beard burn and blemishes along your throat and across the tender arch of your neck.

You practically howled in glee when you felt the first burning push of him against you, his length felt like a hot iron as he forced your body to make room for him. Slick coated both of you, leaked out everywhere, cinnamon and cream and in the handful of moments where he drew back for half a heartbeat before surging forward again your nails dug furrows into his back, ripping a throttled yell from his throat and pushing him onwards. 

The arm that snaked past your head received a bite of its own, the heady power from the act of _marking_ him leaving you breathless, until his own teeth tucked under your jaw and held you still, pulling you away from his flesh.You keened under him, body rising to meet his, and his arms were only a second behind, gathering you up against him, holding you both steady despite his onslaught.

This was very different from what the two of you had done before, and you took advantage, hooking your legs over his hips to change his angle, tugging him closer, arching your back so your nipples could brush against the curly hair that splattered across his chest.If anything, your response excited him more, his hips snapping against your inner thighs with a stinging snap, jaw and teeth painting your shoulders as he mouthed along their curves.

A red hot core built inside you, expanded and raged until your legs quaked under the feeling. Your stomach rippled, once, twice, then clenched down hard on, a strangled moan breaking free as your orgasm swept through you, growing into a high pitched tremble as you felt his knot begin to expand. 

It was more intense, more intimate with a chest to bury your head against, nose buried against the crook of his neck as you felt his jaw lock on your opposite shoulder.He cradled you, arms across your back, and you felt the shudder that worked through him at the first pulsing blast of his own orgasm ensued.Wet trailed down your thighs onto the elk skin below, your slick leaking out around the knot, excess cooling on both your skin.You both moved at the same time, your hips angling upwards, his knees sliding under your raised rump, and you felt the difference immediately. 

He pulsed again, shuddered, and you squirmed at the feeling, feeling full and stretched, oversensitive as another wave of pleasure banked up your abdomen, your body greedy for what he was giving. 

Eventually, his teeth unclenched, and he pulled back slightly, a still sticky hand coming up to absently brush hair out of your face.You watched as his eyes followed the digit’s path, down the curve of your nose to rest lightly on your bottom lip, taking in your expression from where you peeked from his chest.

“Seems I marked you up a little more this time,” the rumble was soft, his face scrunching up for a second as his knot pulsed again inside you, and you both shivered at the feeling. 

“You were right though,” it was your turn to shiver, shifting slightly as you felt wetness trailing down your butt again, and you broke off with a thready hum.

He must have felt it as well, his nose dipping down so he could mouth at your bitten shoulders again.“Don’t worry, it’ll go down soon.” He pressed a kiss to your raw skin, humming soothingly. 

You listened to his heartbeat, fingers carding through his chest hair, watched how he kept his face turned away, a fine shiver working down his back.Turning your head slightly, you pressed your lips fully against his chest, and cooed against his skin, “filled me up good, _Alpha_.”

He tensed, a growl rumbling up his throat, and silvered eyes peeked down at you.You grinned, rubbed your beard raced face against his chest, and bit down lightly. You stifled a laugh when he cursed, shuddered, then moaned as another pulse of pleasure went through you both.

“You are unbelievable,” but there was amusement around his mouth, a tiny up tilt of lips. You purred at him, nuzzled, and shut your eyes, sighing and relaxing in his hold. 

He carefully drew his hips back, grunted as his knot gave slightly then held, and turned you both on your sides, hiking your legs higher around his hips.You mumbled, stretched, and succeeded in pulling away, your body shivering at feeling empty. 

Instead of retreating however, you moved closer, pushing on him until he finally rolled over. His arm snagged out and pulled you up, letting you splay out across his chest.“This ok?” He sounded tired, head flopped back, throat bared as you settled down.

“Yea, this is fine.” You touched the bite mark on his arm, tracing the pattern your teeth had left.“I think I prefer it that way.”

He hummed assent, rolling his head so he could watch you, muscles lax around his eyes, slightly crinkly around his mouth.

“Am I tickling you?”

“No,” but the lift of the fine hair on his arm belied his words, and you scratched lightly along the lines of muscle, feeling him shift slightly and tense.

“Keep doin that sweetheart, and we’ll be goin another round.” That damned rumble was back, made you shiver as a curl of want worked its way back into your stomach, your already soaked womanhood clenching at the sound. 

He breathed in deeply, and shut his eyes tightly.“Damn it, woman, not thirty minutes ago you were scared shitless of me.”

You shrugged, moved to get off him, but his hands caught you, held you tight and still.“You need to rest,” his eyes flickered to where your skin was visibly raw and broke, and you followed his gaze.

“I wanted you to do that, it's preferable to…” you trailed off, forgetting for a moment that saying _preferable to you breaking bones_ might not be the most tactful thing to do.

Your confession had the opposite effect of what you wanted, however, and he swelled up like an angry bullfrog.“Preferable to?”

You shrugged, gaze darting away, and let the silence stretch until you couldn’t bare it any longer.“Worse… things.”

He was quiet, and you glanced down, finding his eyes shut tightly and a tic in his jaw.His arms turned bruising for half a heartbeat, squeezing tightly where they were wrapped around your waist, before they lacked noticeably, and he blew a heavy breath out his nose. After a moment, the strain in his body turned into a contained hum, and he opened his eyes, the silver cutting to yours. “I _prefer_ not hurtin my partner.”

"It doesn't-" the words were automatic, but he cut them off with a snarl, finally showing some irritability. 

"If you think I didn't smell that _fuckin_ chemical-" 

You pressed against him instinctively, lips and teeth at his jaw and throat, aiming to soothe his response. It worked, maybe too well, because he rolled you over onto your back and slid back inside, heedless of the mess you both had already created. 

You squeaked, face mashed against his chest, lips rasping against the jut of his collarbone with every rake of his hips.He snarled above you, the sound loud and angry, his teeth settling against your throat, pinching, just shy of breaking through.His hips bucked, buried his length inside you, pulling a gasp out from your throat.

He froze when he heard it, the muscles along his back tensing under your hands.Slowly, carefully, his jaw opened, letting your throat slip free.He turned his head and buried it against the elk fur underneath you, his hair brushing against your face. 

He moved against you again, this time softer, letting you feel the way his stomach rolled through the motion, his length dragging along inside you.You shuddered, writhed, tried to protest against his slow drive, but he hushed you, face still buried out of sight, though you still heard his garbled words:

“Just… let me.” 

It was accompanied with another slow thrust, and your eyes rolled back, fingers digging into his back.His hands moved, dragged yours off him, tangled your fingers together and held them away to the side. He shuddered when you bucked against him, wiggled under the pressure of his slow movements, but he kept them up until you were swallowing mouthful after mouthful of cinnamon, your body not happy with his pace. 

Finally, you moaned, turned your head against his neck and gave him a muffled, “please”, that caused him to shudder, choke, and then you felt him reach down in the space between your bodies, his fingers sliding down until they could just barely brush your clit.

You came hard, the tiny touch setting you off, though he kept rubbing a calloused pad against you until his knot swelled again. He pushed against you, chest to chest, breathing heavy like a bull as he started to come. His shoulders knotted, bunched, and you felt a pulse of heat inside you that was becoming familiar.You could only shudder under him until his knot went down, and only when he finally pulled back did he look at you, hands smoothing down your sides and legs until they hung at his sides.

“You ok?”

His face twisted at your quiet question, frown deepening at whateverhe saw in your face. “I’m suppose to be asking you that question, Omega.”

You shrugged, staring up at him, conscious of how much bigger than you he actually was. “I’m fine.” He huffed, and you continued. “A little cold.”

He retuned to press against you, letting you feel his body heat seep into you. “I could shift, give you something with a little more fur.”

You balked quickly, not letting him see the unease on your face. “I prefer this.”

He didn’t say anything about your choice of words, instead let his weight drop down, weighing you in place. You hands moved on their own accord, tunneled into his hair and rubbed at his scalp, and his eyes slipped closed, a rumble spreading through his chest and in turn your legs.

His head was pillowed on your stomach, and you could see the muscles along his back soften as he relaxed, the glistening skin scored in red lines from where you had clawed him. He hummed, low in his throat, and pressed a kiss to your navel. 

It was quiet in the den, the light dimmer now that the fire had died down a little, and you found your eyes drawn to the unearthed roots along the ceiling, eyes circling back and around the meaningless patterns as you fought down the next question you wanted to ask. It seemed you couldn't let the quiet continue, scared the other shoe would drop, and this dream would stop. 

"What's your name?" You jumped at his question, mouth gaping as your tongue swallowed the very words he had just uttered. You shivered, hands curling into the softness of his hair. 

He shifted, drawing your eyes downward. His eyes were dimmer, silver bleeding softer, a concerned look scrunching his brows. "You don't have'ta tell me, sweetheart."

You shook your head, unable to tell him it was the very question you were trying to figure out how to ask, and gave him what he wanted on a rush of air. It had been awhile since you had said it out loud, since you went by a different name in the towns of men, but you wanted to give him the more intimate name, the one your mother gave you. 

He pressed another kiss to your stomach, beard rasping along the gentle swell, and you asked, "what's your name, Alpha?"

His chuckle was breathy, barely there, at odds with the subtle tensing in his shoulders. He rolled his head sideways so he could gauge your reaction, scruffy cheek now pressed to your skin. "Arthur."

Hurt curled in your chest, and you tore your eyes away, trying to stifle the response. 

"Sweetheart... I don't have another name to give you." His touch was soft, fingers rubbing back and forth against your hips, trying to draw back your gaze. You huffed and shuffled up on one elbow, shifting until you could lay on one hip. He moved with you, hand curling around your knees and splaying across the rise of your butt, chin propped up on your hip. 

"That's a man's name." You tilted your head, willing him to explain. 

"I was raised by men." Arthur's voice was even, tone measured, but still your eyebrows rocketed upwards. 

"Raised..." It was unheard of. The few pups that managed even to last beyond a few days without parents were killed, usually mistaken for a common animal, or experimented on. To be raised by man though, it was a miracle.Though, you thought suddenly, it certainly did explain the oddities and differences about him.

His smile was accompanied by a tilting motion of the head, a huff of a laugh letting you know he was enjoying surprising you. "I got lucky. So did a few others. A couple of Betas, their pup. Another Alpha."

"They your pack?"

He shrugged. "More like family. We travel with humans."

It sounded downright dangerous, and you told him so, though he seemed to shrug it off easily enough as though he had heard the words before. You were starting to get the feeling that he lived with danger on a daily basis, had gotten so used to rubbing cheek and jowl against it that it didn't register anymore.Of course, it could also just be a habit of shrugging off things he was unable, or unwilling to change. 

When his grin dropped in exchange for a tight lipped scrunch and a barely there kiss to your thigh, you realized it was more likely the second option, but that realization just brought more questions. You came back just in time for him to roll one shoulder and answer, giving you insight into his decision:

"It's more dangerous to run alone. Most don't know what I am, what any of us are, and it's not likely they'll ever find out."

"But why do you stay with them?"

"Loyalty." He stated simply, lips pressing against the raw bite mark on your thigh for a long heartbeat.He scooted upwards to rub his forehead against your shoulder, pushing until you splayed backwards across the fur.His bulk was quick to follow, skin almost unbearably hot against your own. 

"C'mon, sweetheart, oughta sleep for a little, lest it hits you again." You murmured a pleased sound at his insistence, turning slightly to burrow into the warmth he offered. Contentment seeped into your bones, muscles relaxing and slowly losing the fever heat as he stretched out beside you. He nosed the top of your head, and you shifted until your own brushed against his collar.

You woke first, the dawn light creeping into the den and causing you to startle. 

Arthur moved at your instinctual jerk, sitting up suddenly and scenting the air, before turning to look at you, and surprise flitted across his face, mirrored on your own.

Hazel eyes where there had been silver, and you found the color rather suited him.

“Guess we were compatible.” He rumbled, but you frowned. Even compatible, your heat should have lasted a couple of days, even with an Alpha in prime condition.

When you came back from your train of thought and turned to him, his eyes were sad, though he gave you a soft smile.“C’mon, Omega, we better pack up.”

It was sensible, what one was suppose to do unless they had decided to take a mate, and neither of you had broached the subject. It was surprising however, that he was the first to voice it. Usually the female was more likely to crave the wild after a heat, and though you ached to run and feel the wind on your face, the thought crept in unbidden that it would be fun to run the wilderness with this wolf.

You grimaced when you moved, feeling disgusted with the salt, sweat, and other things coating your skin, and followed him out of the den gingerly after he exited, his hand held back to help you to your feet.

When it came time to finally leave him, you found yourself hesitant, drawing your motions out in an effort to stay just a little bit longer.When he noticed the conflict on your face, he stopped packing up camp and crossed to you in long strides, gathering you up in a hug.

"Promise me somethin," he whispered, arms tightening around you, voice quiet in the dawn chill. You tilted your head on his chest, rolling against his shoulder until you could look up at him. 

He looked hesitant, tongue briefly wetting his lower lip, refusing to look at you. He suddenly sighed, breath painting your upturn face, and those hazel eyes, so shocking after seeing them gleam silver, acknowledged you. "Promise. If there's pups. You'll come find me."

The surprise of the request must have shown on your face, but he didn't say anything, let you mull over the offer. You thought about everything he had done for you, the horse, gathering your clothes, building a den, taking care not to hurt you, and answered instinctually, nodding before you even voiced your decision. 

"Of course. But how-?"

His grin was infectious, his eyes lighting up at your easily given assent. "I'll lay a trail, leave you letters at Valentine. What name-?" 

It was your turn to interrupt, "Samantha Goose."

His responding bark of laughter was so loud, a flock of birds erupted from the nearby tree. "Good, God," he wheezed, "that's the worst fake name I've ever heard of."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to work on Outlaws from the West next, don't know when it'll be up but I need to hop on it. I got stuck in the land of no inspiration, but I think I'm back now, just needed to go soak in the sunshine (maybe I AM part plant, who knows.)
> 
> But in the meantime, please know if I haven't answered your comments I still read them and I appreciate them, just its hard sometimes to reach out. I'm working on being better.


End file.
